Blood-Bourne
by xSilentSlytherin
Summary: ONE-SHOT. Snippets of Astoria's life leading up to her death from the Greengrass curse.


**A/N: I tried filling in how Astoria died? Idk? Key word: tried, lol**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to HP**

* * *

 **Blood-Bourne**

 **by: xSilentSlytherin**

* * *

Growing up, Astoria Greengrass was always sick. Her parents had always chalked it up to be the result of her having a weak immune system. It wasn't unheard of to be born with physical defects such as that; it was common that purebloods had such faults due to the amount of inbreeding in the "pure" families.

As a result, they never investigated her immune system further. This caused her to resent them; could she have been cured of this malady if they hadn't brushed her off whenever she got sick?

* * *

She had learnt when she turned fifteen that she had a blood malediction. Astoria had suffered through the winter and looked beyond her years due to how frail and bony she was. Of course, she had gotten violently ill from how harsh the winter was.

Upon seeing Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing, she had to undergo a series of tests. The matron performed a spell that scanned her body and after furrowing her brows, she took a blood sample.

That day was very emotionally trying for Astoria. She learnt that she would die young. Daphne, her sister, cried just as much as she did upon hearing the news. However, their cold and uncaring father was furious. Their mother Adaline had passed away when Astoria was five, leaving Conrad Greengrass without a true heir. The Greengrass name would die out and he would most likely only have grandchildren through Daphne.

* * *

Once she graduated Hogwarts, her father would often make her, and Daphne visit the homes of Malfoy, Nott, and Flint with him. One day, she was summoned to go to Malfoy Manor, which wasn't unusual as she had visited the home almost every week.

Upon flooing there and brushing the soot off her robes, her father informed her that he had arranged an unbreakable contract with Lucius Malfoy to join their two families. She glanced at her sister Daphne, whose face was expressionless, but her eyes gave something away. They were glistening, like tears were threatening to spill.

Narcissa Malfoy smiled at Astoria. "We should start discussing the wedding between you and Draco."

Her father had sold her and lied to the Malfoys', a family more ancient than their own. Obviously, Conrad hadn't told them about the blood-bourne curse that had been passed down to her, or else they wouldn't had negotiated the marriage contract. Her father was cunning and ruthless.

Since her family had remained neutral during the war, the Malfoys would be paying her father an extravagant sum to marry his youngest child to their only one, and in return, she would help to restore the Malfoy name.

If it wasn't for her training in social etiquette and learning to mask emotions, she would have run from the room and emptied her stomach out into one of the many rooms in Malfoy manor.

Instead, she smiled weakly at her future husband who looked at her stoically. He would be as much of a hostage in this marriage as she would be.

The moment they left, Daphne grabbed her arm and led her to their wing of the manor. Daphne was shaking. She explained that she had tried to convince their father to marry her to the Malfoy heir instead of Astoria. But her father signed Daphne away to the Notts instead.

They spent that night crying as much as they did when they had learnt of the infliction Astoria was suffering.

* * *

Although she had gotten used to the fact that her death was inevitable, she transferred the resentment she had to her father to resentment over the fact that she wouldn't die on her own terms; she wouldn't complete the things she'd wanted to do, and she'd die with her dreams being unfulfilled.

She had wanted to travel the world, to find true love, and to have a house full of children, amongst many other things.

The wedding was weeks away. Draco always looked angry when he came and visited but she didn't know what she did wrong. She acted how she was expected to; feigning interest in marrying the heir.

"Why are your eyes always so hollow? Do you not wish to marry me?" Draco asked her.

She'd almost dropped her cup of tea when the words spilled from his mouth. Instead, she simply raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow at him. "Why do you always look so angry? Do you not wish to marry me?" she countered.

The blond man sighed and left. He obviously knew that something was wrong. It only raised suspicions that the wedding had been planned to happen soon, unlike her sister's wedding which was still another year away.

* * *

Astoria woke up to an empty bed. She had married Draco the day before. Her and Draco were friends and everyday that passed made her feel more and more guilty about him not knowing about her malediction.

It wasn't love, per se. But mutual respect. It was more than what a lot of other pureblood marriages had.

She knew it was only a matter of time before he found out.

* * *

She sat in the healer's room. Draco was late and had missed the first fifteen minutes of her appointment.

According to the healer, she was six weeks pregnant.

The door opened abruptly, which startled the healer and caused him to stop mid-sentence. Upon seeing that it was her husband, he continued. "As I was saying, it wouldn't be wise to continue with this pregnancy."

Draco sneered at the man, he was obviously shocked at the healer's words.

"Your blood malediction is only getting worse. You could hardly fight illnesses and diseases before the pregnancy. This could possibly kill you. I'll leave you alone to consider things." The healer left the room and closed the door.

* * *

They flooed back to their home.

"Just consider it, Astoria!" Draco raised his voice at her.

"What's there to consider?" she countered.

"This isn't worth the possibility of you dying…"

"Death is inevitable, Draco. Even if I weren't pregnant, who knows when the fates would take me? Would it be 10 minutes or 10 years from now? Who knows!"

"How are you okay with this?" Draco asked. He couldn't find it in himself to be angry at her. He knew it wasn't her idea to marry him and extort his family.

Astoria thought for a moment. "I've had years to come to terms with this."

"But why do you want the baby so bad? What if this kills you?" he looked defeated.

"My death is not an if, but a when. When I die, I don't want you to be alone and wallow in sadness. I want something that will remind you of our time together."

* * *

He was never late again to another healer appointment.

The healer performed a diagnostic spell. "It's a boy."

Draco squeezed her hand and gave her a rare smile.

In the end, she had chosen to keep the baby and they agreed to not mention her illness. Astoria did not regret her decision.

* * *

Childbirth was difficult. She was frail and weak. The pregnancy affected her more than she would let on to Draco.

But she did it. She'd survived giving birth to _their_ beautiful boy, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy.

* * *

She never did get along with Draco's parents. Scorpius was now four-years old and she had been forced to endure many afternoons with her in-laws.

Narcissa and Lucius were lecturing their grandson about the importance of blood and how theirs was superior to blood traitors, half-bloods and muggleborns. Astoria called for a house elf and ordered it to take Scorpius to another room.

"How dare you try to manipulate my son's mind into becoming as prejudice as yours? Isn't the war enough of a reminder? You brainwashed your own son into thinking the same things and all of you barely escaped Azkaban. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves." she stared defiantly into their eyes.

Draco tried to hide his smile and wished his parents goodbye.

Astoria was no longer welcome at Malfoy Manor.

* * *

Astoria decided to take her son to a local park.

"Mummy!" her son shouted and ran to her, staring at her with his big grey eyes.

"Yes, my love?"

"Can you play with me, please?" he gave her one of his looks that no one could say no to.

"What for, sweetheart? There are plenty of children for you to play with here…"

"But I want to build a castle in the sandpit with my mummy" her son pleaded.

Her heart broke. Scorpius was now six and as he grew bigger and stronger, she became weaker and fragile.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but mummy can't play with you. I'm too sick…"

Her son frowned at her. "But mummy, you're always sick."

* * *

Astoria stared at her sister with envy. Daphne and Theodore Nott were obviously in love. Theo rubbed her sister's bulging stomach and smiled when he felt a kick. Their fourth child was due in a few months time.

Astoria still longed for a house full of children. It didn't help that Scorpius yearned for a sibling.

When Scorpius first told his parents that he wanted siblings, Draco had stared at her wide-eyed. He was absolutely mortified of her having to go through that traumatic experience again. It was the cause of all their fights.

"You can't tell me you don't want another child!" she was in hysterics.

"Not at the expense of you dying! The pregnancy left you weak and even more frail. You haven't recovered since. I don't want another child if it means that Scorpius grows up without a mother."

A lone tear slid down her cheek.

* * *

Astoria's health continued to decline as time went by. When Astoria wasn't visiting healers, she could often be found sitting in the study, watching her son's tutoring lessons or watching him read.

She smiled to herself. He looked just like Draco. Astoria still yearned for more kids. She wanted to see what they would look like; if his genes were dominant or if she'd have a miniature version of herself.

Scorpius would be leaving home and studying at Hogwarts next year.

She would miss him dearly. Seeing him everyday made her try to fight harder. The blood malediction was often compared to leukaemia. The uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells would stop the development process of blood cells. The abnormal cells stopped the blood from performing crucial functions such as fighting diseases. It's why Astoria was always sick.

They had visited many magical healers to try cure her. Upon hearing the similarity to the muggle disease leukaemia, Draco had forced her to see muggle healers too. It only made them both restless to hear the same thing over and over; her stage was critical. It was incurable.

* * *

The summer before Scorpius left for Hogwarts, Astoria's father passed away.

Although Conrad Greengrass wasn't a well-liked man, there had been many people in attendance.

Her sister Daphne was crying profusely. Initially, Daphne hated her father for selling her sister to the highest bidder and doing the same with her. However, she became thankful about the match when she had found love with the Nott heir.

All of Daphne's children were crying as well. Not because they'd loved their grandfather, but because they were confused, and their mother was crying.

Astoria wondered if this was what her funeral would be like.

* * *

Astoria was willing herself not to cry. Her not-so-little boy was going to Hogwarts! They had made bets on what house he would be in. She bet Ravenclaw and Draco had bet Slytherin, stating that all Malfoys had been sorted into Slytherin.

"Mum, what if no one likes me?" Scorpius had noticed all the looks people were giving them.

Cameras were flashing everywhere. This had been the first time Astoria had gone into public without hiding in a cloak. They never ventured out into public, aside from healer appointments. Although she had always been skinny, she had to admit to herself that she now resembled a skeleton which was probably why journalists were focusing their attention on her rather than the Potters.

Astoria smiled at him and placed a big bag of lollies in his hand. "Sweets, they always help you make friends."

* * *

Since Scorpius was at Hogwarts, the house was so empty, and she felt so lonely.

Of course, she had Draco to talk to, but that was different.

Their conversations made her wish for something more and often left her sad. She would tell him what she longed to do and to have before she passed. But he'd tell her to change the topic, not wanting to hear her talk about death.

* * *

Scorpius was very observant. He was beginning to catch onto the fact that she was terminally ill but just as Draco always brushed her off, she did the same to their son. He was having a tough time at school because the students mocked him due to his family's involvement in the war. She didn't want him worrying over her sickness, but she was at least glad that he had formed a friendship with Potter's son.

It never gets easier watching her son leave. He was now in his second year at Hogwarts and was looking more and more like Draco each day.

It was their thirteenth wedding anniversary today. They'd grown to care for each other over the years, despite the fights they had over children and her illness. Her life force was fading, and Draco was in denial.

He lived each day with her, knowing it could be her last. He arranged international portkeys to visit different countries and booked new experiences for them to try. He was trying to fulfil a dying woman's wishes. Although they would only stay in each country for a few hours, it meant the world to her that he was trying.

That night, he kissed her fervently. He was very tender and caring in his touches.

* * *

It was almost Christmas and Scorpius had returned to them. His friends were often over and even though Draco and Harry weren't friends, the tides had turned. They arranged sleepovers for their sons quite frequently during the Christmas period, burying the hatchet.

On Christmas day, Draco had taken Scorpius to visit his grandparents. Astoria didn't mind that Draco's parents still hated her for speaking the truth. If Scorpius had his grandparents' belief, he wouldn't have made so many friends.

After dinner with them, Scorpius immediately fell asleep, exhausted from the days events.

Draco handed her a small present. She opened it and saw a beautiful platinum necklace. She smiled and thanked him and gave him his gift.

She held her breath when his long fingers began to open the package.

Once he opened it, he stared at the offending object. They stood in silence for a minute.

She had given him a muggle pregnancy test with two lines and the instructions, so he could read what it meant.

* * *

They fought over it.

"No. Astoria please…" he was trying to make her get rid of the unborn child.

"It's too late." She touched her stomach. There wasn't a noticeable bump yet but she already felt adoration towards their unborn child.

"H-how long?"

"Three months" she glanced at his piercing grey eyes and saw that they were bloodshot. She noticed his hands were fisted; he was angry. "The baby was conceived on our anniversary."

* * *

It was a familiar scene. Draco and Astoria were at a healer appointment.

"You were severely weakened by the previous pregnancy… you will need to be put on bedrest for the remainder of the two trimesters."

The healer left the room.

"You're finally getting your wish."

"What do you mean?" Astoria asked.

Draco gave her a sad smile. "A house full of children."

They were having twins.

* * *

Scorpius was ecstatic when he found out. He immediately embraced his mother and gave her a grin when he came home for the holidays.

The trio of them could be found in the library, next to the fireplace, discussing baby names.

Father and son would play Wizard's chess while she read a book.

* * *

One morning, she woke up and felt the bedsheets damp with blood.

Upon hearing her scream, Draco ran into the bedroom and found his heavily pregnant wife crying. There was so much blood.

He immediately rushed them to St. Mungo's.

* * *

Draco told her that he loved her while she was lying on the hospital bed. She smiled and declared her love for him, too.

The healers had given her a choice. They couldn't save everyone; she could forfeit her life or theirs.

She wanted to save theirs.

* * *

The funeral was a sombre affair.

They had never really left the house and so her death shocked the public. No one even knew she was ill. Except family, of course. Half of Wizarding Britain had attended the funeral. Draco cursed the lot of them. They only attended to find out what had happened to the Malfoy bride.

Wands were being pointed and ready to cast.

Draco and Scorpius were heartbroken but trying to keep it together.

Daphne was openly sobbing as she watched everyone's wands levitate the three caskets into the ground.


End file.
